Dust Palace Investors

Thank you!

We met our Target!

WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO

Nine years ago, Eve and I started Dust Palace to start telling stories using circus as a language. We wanted to make a safe space for the misfits of the world to thrive, and fall, and catch each other. We wanted to make shows that made people double-take, at what they saw and at the world around them. We wanted to stretch the corners of that world, of what was deemed possible, and to offer a space for kids to dream.

In the last nine years, I’ve gone from being one of the sweaty, chalky (and at times bloody!) bodies on the gymnasium mats every day - to watching this extraordinary company unfold and hurtle towards it’s ten year anniversary. I’ve had the luxury in performance retirement of stepping off the floor and being able to take in the bigger picture of the Dust Palace, from the business perspective.

We’ve developed thirteen full scale works in that time, and opened a thriving circus school to share our knowledge and joy in the art form with others. It is nothing short of a privilege to see the gruelling, rewarding and extraordinary work that this company, it’s performers, students and teachers undertake, every day, to change lives on so many levels.

There is only one reason that The Dust Palace has been able to consistently deliver on it's promises for the last nine years, and that is simple; Eve Gordon.

Since the Dust Palace inception she has worked relentlessly to pursue her dream of creating a circus theatre company that will be a world leader. She works over 70 hours per week, every week, unpaid, doing everything. You name it; accounts, marketing pitches, mentoring students, creating shows. Every corporate fee she earns as a performer is invested directly back into the company so she can buy the kids new mats, or pay the teachers. She is not doing this for the money.

Whether making costumes by hand after rehearsals till 4am in the morning, training like an elite athlete or holding this company together by sheer grit and compassion, there is no doubt about it... Eve is my personal hero. She is inspiring. And that's not just because of her work ethic. It's because she has an artistic dream of creating something far greater than any of us could ever realise and she backs this dream with all of her time and all of her money.

As a company, the Dust Palace is now on the precipice of an extraordinary shift in resources - we have all been carried to this point on Eve's small but strong shoulders, now is our chance to return the favour and lift her.

I know that you love the Dust Palace, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. So I invite you to share our vision to make this world-class circus company sustainable, so it can continue to bring the courage, connection and artistry in our work to not just you, but for generations to come. That is our dream. This is our story, and we want so much for you to be a part of that.

WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY SELLING?

We're giving you the opportunity to invest in the future of circus in Aotearoa by opening up 40% of the Dust Palace Productions Ltd. The breakdown is below here but there is much much more information if you sign up to the newsletter... here. Even if you can't commit funds sign up anyway... you might know someone who would love to muck in...

The Dream

The dream is to have a thriving hub for circus arts in Auckland in order to grow the art form in innovation, attention and engagement.

We have found another building in our area which is entirely ideal; at three times the size of our current space, and with three meters more height, it has superior structure for the rigors of circus. On top of this it has extra space for onsite physiotherapy/acupuncture/massage facilities.

The opportunities of the new space vastly outnumber those of our current facility; we will finally be able to offer team building workshops for corporate clients and birthday parties for kids. We will set it up for a range of performance projects and it is large enough to offer as an event venue.

In addition to growing the range of activities, the level of skills we will be able to offer in tuition will increase (new apparatus and higher level technique). We will be able to attract international trainers if our facility is world class.

The plan is to lessen the risk by sharing the space with other like minded companies; other circus companies, dance companies, and stunting companies. Through sharing resources we will create a vibrant hub of a training space.